Nutritional liquids and powders, including infant and pediatric formulas, comprising a targeted selection of nutrients are well known and widely available, some of which may provide a sole source of nutrition, while others may provide a supplemental source. These nutritionals include powders that can be reconstituted with water or other aqueous liquids, as well as concentrated and ready-to-drink nutritional liquids such as milk or protein based emulsions. These nutritional liquids are especially useful when formulated with selected nutritional ingredients.
Although breast milk is generally recognized as the best nutrition for newborn infants, not every mother can successfully breastfeed. Breast milk replacers (infant formulas) may provide complete nutrition, and they have been proven to meet infant normal growth and developmental nutritional needs. Unfortunately, a small percentage of infant formula fed newborns can experience gastrointestinal (GI) intolerance problems, including loose stools, gas, necrotizing enterocolitis, colic, and the like.
The GI intolerance problem may be at least in part due to incomplete nutrient digestion and absorption in the infant. To address this tolerance problem, some infant formulas exclude lactose as an ingredient, while others replace intact milk protein with hydrolyzed protein to lessen the burden on an infant's digestion system.
Additionally, some formula fed newborn infants have a much lower fat absorption rate than the breast fed infants. This discrepancy in fat absorption rate decreases as infants become more mature. Presumably, newborn infants are deficient in lipase, and thus, they do not digest and absorb fat as well as breast fed infants who receive lipase in the mother's milk.
A preterm infant's digestion system is less developed than that of a term infant, yet they need more nutrients (calories) than term infants to foster growth and development. Medium chain triglycerides (MCT oil) are easy to digest and absorb, and have been included in preterm formulas to improve formula fat, protein and calcium absorption. The medium chain fatty acids included in the medium chain triglycerides, however, are not used to re-synthesize triglycerides to form chylomicrons after the MCT oil is digested and absorbed. As many lipid soluble nutrients, such as carotenoids and vitamins A, D, E, and K, are believed to be packaged into chylomicrons prior to entering systemic circulation, the benefit provided by MCT oil on lipid soluble nutrient absorption, which is also important for growth and development, may be more limited.
Although attempts have been made in the past to address the GI issues and others set forth above, it would be desirable to provide infant and pediatric formulas that can provide nutritional benefits similar to breast milk, and also provide good tolerance, digestion and absorption of water-insoluble hydrophobic nutrients as well as a reduction in the incidence of conditions such as necrotizing enterocolitis, colic, and short bowel syndrome. Additionally, it would be beneficial if these formulas could be stabilizer free, and specifically carrageenan free.